Charles l enfant



(No Model.)

0. LENPANT.

COVER FOR BOOKS.

Patented June 16 Fly-'1.

AN DREW B.GRAHAM. PHOYO-UTHD.WA5NINGTDN.B C

spectively an outside and-inside view of a fin-- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES LENFANT, OF NEIV YORK, N. Y.

covERFo R BOOKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 562,228, dated June 16, 1896.

Application filed February 28, 1896. Serial No. 581,167. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, CHARLES LENEANT, a citizen of the German Empire, residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Covers for Books, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved flexible cover for books, such as Bibles, prayerbooks and the like, in which the corners are made in such a manner that not only the objectionable radiating folds but any radial overlapping portions at the corners are dispensed with, said cover being made from one single blank that is cut out by means of a die, so that the skilled hand-labor heretofore required for finishing the cover is reduced to its utmost limit; and the invention consists of a flexible cover for books, made with rounded-off corners and inwardly-folding sides and end portions, and narrow edge strips formed from the corner-pieces of the side and end portions and being cemented over the edges of the corners, so that a flexible cover with rounded-off corners without any radiating folds and radial overlapping portions is obtained The invention consists,further, in the construction of the blank from which the cover is made,as will be fully described hereinafter, and finally pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a plan View of the blank from which my improved flexible cover is made. Figs. 2 and 3 represent one of the corners of the blank on a larger scale, Fig. 3 representing the same corner with some of the edges of the inwardly-folding side and end portions pared off, so as to be reduced in thickness. Figs. 4:, 5, and 6 represent the successive steps by which the blank is folded and trimmed off at each corner, and Figs. 7 and 8 are reished corner of the cover.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

In making my improved flexible cover for books, such as Bibles, prayer-books and the like, the blanks A are cut from a number of superposed pieces of leather or by a suitable die in such a manner that the four roundedoff corners to and the recesses 1) adjacent to said corners are cut out at the same time,

as shown in Fig. l and in detail in Fig. 2.

The recesses 12 extend from one side of the corners a toward the outer edges of the blank, but are of slightly less width than the radius of the rounded-off corner, which is obtained by making the corner-piece b of the blank somewhat wider than the inwardly-folding end portion of the blank, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This'is accomplished by means of a short slit 19 that extends from one end of the rounded-oft corner Ct along a portion of the circumference of the same, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. One edge of each recess extends radially from the rounded-off corner, while the opposite edge extends, approximately, tangentially therefrom.

When the blanks from suitable material are cut by the die so that the four recesses b b are formed, the outer edge of the cornerpiece b and the edge of the side portion 6 extending outwardly from the end of the rounded-off corner are pared off by a suitable knife, as shown at cl din Fig. 3, which paring operation is repeated at every corner of the blank. The side and end portions 6 and e of the blank are then folded inwardly along the dotted lines connecting the ends of the rounded-off corners a, as shown in Fig. 1, and glued or cemented down to the body of the blank, so as to produce a cover of the shape shown in Fig. 4, so that the pared-off edges of the corner-pieces b overlap the pared-off edges of the inwardly-folded side portions e. The cover is then turned over or reversed into the position shown in Fig. 5, so that all the corner-pieces b are in the position shown in Fig. 5, after which the projecting portions of the corner-pieces b are trimmed off close to the rounded-off corners a, so as to leave a narrow edge strip f, as shown in Fig. 6. This narrow edge strip f is then cemented over the rounded-off edge of the corner, it being preferably only of such a size as to be even in thickness with the two layers of leather of which the corner is formed, and then smoothly worked over the edge of the corner and finally creased on the outside of the cover, as shown in Fig. 7, so that a cover with perfectly finished rounded-off corners is obtained.

In placing such a flexible cover on the books no radiating folds are formed at the corners,

which is the main feature to be aimed at, while the covering edge strips f of the corners have entirely disappeared, owing to the cementing and finishing of the edge strips to the edges of the corners and the creasing at the outside of the cover. No creasing is required at the inside of the cover, as the same is perfectly smooth and as the narrow edge strips are worked over from the inside toward the outside of the cover. The only overlapping point of the material is at the point where the pared-elf edges of the corner-pieces b overlap the pared-oh": edge of the side and end portions 6 6, but as these are located'at one side of the rounded-elf corners, they are not affected by the lapping of the projecting corners of the cover over the book, and consequently the danger of spreading or openin g at these overlapping edges is dispensed with, which opening is one of the defects of these roundedroff corners of the covers heretofore in use.

My improved flexible cover for books can be manufactured at greatly reduced expense, for the reason that the cutting of the covers is accomplished by means of dies in place of by hand, as heretofore, the die cutting out the rounded corners, as well as the recesses adjacent thereto at one operation, so as to prepare the blanks for the manual work to be done, which consists only of the paring 01f of the overlapping edges of the cornerpieces and side and end portions of the blank, and the trimming off of the projecting corner-pieces, so that the narrow covering-strips for the edges of the corners are obtained and the cementing of these edge strips over the corners, for which girls can be readily trained in place of the skilled labor heretofore required for making the flexible covers with rounded-off corners heretofore in use.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A flexible cover for books, providedwith rounded-off corners and inwardly-folding side and end portions overlapping at one end of the rounded-0E corners, and narrow edge strips formed from the corner-pieees of the side or end and cemented over the edges of the rounded-off corners, substantially as set fort 2. A blank for flexible covers for books, provided with rounded-oh? corners and recesses extending from said corners toward the outer edges of the blank, said recesses being of slightly less Width than the radius ofthe rounded-off corners, one edge of said recess extending radially from each of said corners, and the other edge extending approximately tangentially therefrom, substantially as set forth.

Ablank for flexible covers for books, provided with rounded-01f corners, recesses extending from said corners toward the outer edges ofrthe blank, said recesses being of slightly smaller Width than the radius of the corners, the outer edges of the corner-pieces and the edges of the side and end portions of the blank being pared otl, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHAS. IRENFANT.

IVitnesses:

PAUL GOEPEL, GEO. JAEKEL. 

